If you UC do you UP too?

[triplembride]

we are ttc #2 and i plan on using a midwife for an assisted homebirth but SOMETHING in my heart is nagging me to UC! i REALLY feel a calling for this for some reason but do you also UP if you UC ?

[Khourtniey]

I am not UPing because I have a horrible prenatal history (birth defects and preterm delivery)... The best choice for me is to do prenatal care with an OB/MW team (also followed by a peri) and UC.. Of course my care givers have no idea of the UC plans.

[triplembride]

thanks for the reply i'm not sure what we'll do i dont have as strong as a desire yet to UP as i do to UC

[kalisage]

I've been UP'ing since 20 weeks, I did have a midwife until then. But in the end it seemed silly to have her come once a month for 15 minutes while I pee'd on stick and she listened to baby when I could do those things myself.

[Incubator]

We're doing both UP and UC. But then I have no history of problems. If I did, I'd probably UC with a midwife for prenatal. We thought about doing that this time, just having a check or two with a midwife to make sure I actually know what position the baby is in and maybe check the size but in the end I decided not to. Too much trouble.

[sapphire_chan]

I'm not, but plan to for #2.

[cravenab00]

we did. even though we have an extremely supportive family doc who respects our UC decision, i just didnt see a reason to go see him.
had i gone i would have refused everything anyway.
it was simply blissful.

[HarperRose]

I was seeing a mw till 32 wks, then UP'd from then on since I feel that UC also includes UP for me.

[thixle]

I'm not, but wish I could. It just seems asinine to go somewhere to get weighed and get bad advice
But, I have to keep Medicaid, just in case I need to transfer or have any digestive issues (I have crohn's), and I have to go to prenatal appts to keep it...
Of course, THEY don't know I'm UCing

[KariM]

Some mamas do their own prenatal care and some have a midwife or doctor assist in that prenatal care.

This pregnancy I decided that self-care would bring me the most peace and comfort and was healthiest for me and my babe. Other mothers reach other decisions.

[paphia]

I've been doing all my own pnc except for one MW appointment. I had the faintest episodes of spotting twice so I thought I should get checked out. It was very stressful for me even though all I did was pee in a cup and have her check my blood for a couple things. She listened to the baby's heartbeat with a doppler and then did a low sweep of the doppler to check for a low placenta, which she didn't find.

Really I could have waited and found the placenta myself (which I since have) and done the testy things myself by ordering testing supplies online. I haven't gone back to her but I am thinking about having her come by after the baby is born to help with the birth certificate stuff, and maybe get fitted for some type of birth control.

I have felt drawn to UP and UC. I think you should go with what feels best to you, and be flexible about what feels "best" over the course of your pregnancy. I thought maybe I would get nervous about not having a HCP at the end of my pregnancy but I am 35 weeks tomorrow and I am still content with being on my own.

[vaughnmama]

I did both UP and UC (and my sweet daughter was just born Wednesday!) but you don't have to do both. Whatever your choice, just try to follow your own intuition.

[BirthFree]

I am, but I want to.

Originally Posted by thixle

I'm not, but wish I could.
But, I have to keep Medicaid... ...and I have to go to prenatal appts to keep it...

I have medicaid too and they have no problem with if I go to any prenatal apts. or not (obviously I don't), I can keep my pg medical regardless.

[rmzbm]

I UP'd until 26 weeks when I decided to seek care to obtain an ultrasound. Biggest mistake I EVER made. (Getting the "care" that is, UPing wasn't a mistake...)

[triplembride]

thank you for all the input ladies you mamas are so helpful....so if i was to UP where do you get your supplies?

[saturnfire16]

I have a midwife and her assistant, and I'm planning a kind-of UC. Basically, I'm going to labor alone for most of the time, then call her. Ideally, they'll be in the other room when I give birth. Actually, the closer I get to that time, the more I become comfortable with totally UCing, but we'll see how I feel at the time. I think more than anything, they'll be able to help my dh through it! She's really, super laid back and natural, so my appointments don't even feel like appointments. She doesn't weigh me, and has made me feel so much better about my slow weight gain. (Unlike the midwives I had with my dd who freaked me out and talked me into sonograms.) They just check my bp, and we listen to the baby with a fetoscope. Then we spend the rest of the time just talking, not even always about the pregnancy, just chit chat. It's nice to just get to know them as people, that way if I do need them when I'm in labor, I'll trust them more. I would certainly never-ever go back to a more medically inclined midwife. Might as well have had a doctor! If I have any more, I'm going totally UP and UC.

[BirthFree]

Supplies to UP...

Well there's several places. I particularly like Cascade: http://www.1cascade.com/

Pretty close to me, fast, very friendly and helpful if you call and generally, I just like their stuff too.

You can get pee sticks, birth supplies and a million other things there should you want to.

[mammal_mama]

We're planning on going UP and UC this time.

Last time, I started seeing a midwife in my third trimester. I was glad I did, because I thought I'd been eating healthy, but the pee sticks showed I was getting too much sugar and not enough protein.

My midwife's good advice helped me to turn things around, so that I didn't develop gestational diabetes or toxemia. (She also reassured me that, far along as I was, it was in no way "too late" for me to turn this totally around ... and she asserted that both gestational diabetes and toxemia were totally preventable through diet.)

Basically, I started eating several snacks a day, with something high in protein with each snack. And I started eating more fresh fruit instead of drinking juice. If I did have some orange juice for a treat occasionally, I did it after a full-course, high-protein meal -- and only had a cup, not a 12-oz mug!

I didn't totally give up rich sweets. I was really into eating my own homemade chocolate cakes and brownies -- always iced! -- throughout the pregnancy. But like the occasional orange-juice treats, I did it after eating a high-protein meal.

This time around, I've been applying all that good nutritional advice early on. It's really better for everyone to consume more fresh fruit rather than juice, and have high-protein snacks, especially with any sweets. So it's stuff I should've known anyway. I'm glad I learned it from my midwife. And now I feel ready to do my own prenatal care!

[eveblac]

I have been UP for 35 weeks. At first I tried to get prenatal care but system made it so difficult, and eventually i was "too far along" and they said I was high risk b/c of not having prenatal care, that I could not Get prenatal care, I said *F* it I'll do it myself. So far so good, it's much better this way.

however my son was completely uneventful pregnancy. very easy and no problem at all, he came right on time no complication. i have had 2 m/c before 12 weeks but both before having my son, one i believe was molar pregnancy, the other i know was baby pregnancy went bad.

if i had had mc after having my son i would be more worried about UP than I am, but having 2 first and knowing what good healthy pregnancy feel like, i know that this baby is good healthy not going bad at all.

i will be UC in 5 weeks.


choice to UP is up to you, no law says you have to have prenatals, you dont have to do them yourself even if you don't want. for me all i do is weight, fundal height, and occasional (ok only once) BP. which it was normal, and i know if anything not seem right, i get it checked out right away.

[Codi's Mama]

You can UP and UC or you can do prenatals with a midwife/OB. Whatever makes you feel better. Some people don't even tell their midwife/OB they're going to UC and just did an oops, baby came too fast. That way if they have to transfer, they've got someone there they know.
I'm currently 24 weeks and doing UP. I check weight, BP, fundal height, maternal heart rate, and eventually I'll also record baby's heart rate (found with fetoscope) and baby's position. It just makes me feel better if I have to transfer to have a record.
You can also check out the 'Self Care Info for Self Assisted Prenatal Care' sticky from over in the pregnancy forum for a lot of thoughts/ideas UP.